Neighbors shocked, saddened after human remains found at Everman home

People who live in the Tarrant County neighborhood where human remains were found are reeling on Thursday with feelings of shock and sadness.

The quiet of the normally peaceful Everman neighborhood was disrupted by what authorities announced they found in a backyard. Andy Booth lives nearby.

"They did find some remains, and you've got to think that that's what it is, his remains, and that's a relief to the community," Booth said.

Authorities announced Thursday that human remains were found during a renewed search for 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, who disappeared in 2022. The child's mother, Cindy Rodriguez Singh, who has been charged with murder, will be sent to a state hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial late last month.

Residents describe heartbreak and disbelief

The discovery hits home for Amber Duffins. She lives in the home that investigators searched for three days along Wisteria Drive.

"It's heartbreaking, and it's kind of disturbing," Duffins said. "My heart is just like broken. I'm a mother. I can't imagine doing anything to my child, and to know he's been there this whole time, and they already dug before, they could have gotten closer, and they could have found him."

Mike Ford has lived in the neighborhood since 1967.

"You see things on the news all the time, but when it's right there in your neighborhood, just a few doors down, it really strikes you," Ford said.

Memories of missing boy resurface

Ford saw the little boy who once lived in the home, six‑year‑old Noel Rodriguez‑Alverez, who has been missing for almost four years and is at the heart of the investigation.

"Every time I drive by that house, I think about it every day. Every day, and when I leave, I think about it, and it's just sadness," Ford said.

Duffins said she's been crying since she learned investigators found human remains in her own backyard. She's not sure she can continue living in this home.

"It's not going to be just normal playing or being around because we're just playing and dancing on a baby's grave that's been there for how many years now?" Duffins said.

Community waits for confirmation

Duffins mourns and waits to see if the remains are, in fact, little Noel.

"I really just hope that he gets the proper burial he deserves," Duffins said.